1. Learning Style Preferences
王立非

2. Outline: Definition of learning style Value of learning style
Types of learning styles

3. Ellis (1985)
Strategy: method
Style: manner

4. Learning Style Preferences
The learners’ typical preferences for approaching learning.
While style preferences are relatively stable, style-stretching is possible.

5. Values of Learning Style
Strategy is closely related with style.
Style affects learning outcome.
(Wang Lifei 1998)

6. Six Aspects:
Cognitive
Executive
Affective

7. Social
Physiological
behavioral

8. Types of Learning Style
visual – relying more on the sense of sight and learn best through visual means (e.g., books, video, charts, pictures).

9. auditory – preferring listening and speaking activities (e. g
auditory – preferring listening and speaking activities (e.g., discussions, debates, audiotapes, role-plays, lectures).

10. hands-on – benefiting from doing projects, working with objects and moving around.

11. extroverted – enjoying a wide range of social, interactive learning tasks (e.g., games, conversations, debates, role-plays, simulations).

12. introverted – preferring more independent work (e. g
introverted – preferring more independent work (e.g., studying or reading by oneself or learning with the computer) or enjoying working with, say, one other person.

13. abstract-intuitive – future-oriented, enjoying abstract thinking, and happy speculating about possibilities.

14. concrete-sequential – present-oriented, preferring one-step-at-a-time activities and wanting to know where they are going in their learning at every moment.

15. keeping all options open – enjoying discovery learning where information is picked up naturally and where learning doesn’t involve a concern for deadlines or rules.

16. closure-oriented – focusing carefully on all learning tasks and seek clarity, meeting deadlines, planning ahead for assignments and staying organized, and wanting explicit directions and decisions.

17. more particular –
focusing more on details and remembering specific information about a topic well.

18. more global –
enjoying getting the main idea and comfortable communicating even without knowing all the words or concepts.

19. more synthesizing – summarizing material well and noticing similarities quickly.

20. more analytic –
pulling ideas apart, doing well on logical analysis and contrast tasks, and tending to focus on grammar rules.

21. more field-independent – able to keep a sense of the whole while handling all the individual parts as well without being distracted

22. more field-dependent – needs context in order to focus and understand something; takes each language part one at a time and may have difficulty handling all of the parts at one time.

23. Field dependence
Field independence
1) Personal orientation
1) Impersonal orientation
2) Holistic
2) Analytic
3) Dependent
3) Independent
4) Socially sensitive
4) Not socially aware

24. more reflective – processes material at a low speed with high accuracy; avoids risks and guessing

25. more impulsive – processes material at a high speed with low accuracy; often takes risks and guesses

26. Summary Table of Selected Learning Style Preferences
visual   auditory   hands on
extroverted   introverted
abstract-intuitive   concrete-sequential
open   closure-oriented
global   particular
synthesizing   analytic
field-dependent   field-independent
reflective   impulsive

27. Assessing Your Own Learning Styles
A Learning Style Survey:
Assessing Your Own Learning Styles
by Andrew D. Cohen, Rebecca L. Oxford, & Julie C. Chi (2001) – downloadable from the CARLA website at:
CohenPapers/Style_Survey.html

28. Teacher-Learner Style Conflicts in the Classroom
The teacher is more analytic, reflective, and auditory, while the learner is more global, impulsive, and visual.

29. The teacher is more open-oriented, while the learner is more closure-oriented.

30. The teacher is more concrete-sequential, while the learner is more random-intuitive.

31. The teacher is more concrete-sequential, visual, and reflective, while the learner is more random-intuitive, auditory, and impulsive.

32. The teacher is more extroverted and hands-on, while the learner is more introverted and visual.

33. Ways to avoid or resolve such conflicts:
Assess students' and teachers' styles and use this information in understanding classroom activities.

34. Ways to avoid or resolve such conflicts:
Change the teacher's instructional style.
Stretching students’ style.

35. Ways to avoid or resolve such conflicts:
Change the way group work is done in the classroom.
Change the curriculum.
Change the way style conflicts are viewed.

36. Thank You!